


The Last Thing She’d Expected

by broken_fannibal



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: (can you believe?? nothing angsty for once??), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Alec Hardy, Bisexual Paul Coates, Light-Hearted, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broken_fannibal/pseuds/broken_fannibal
Summary: Ellie comes to talk to Alec before work and finds something (or rather someone) she'd never have expected in Alec's kitchen.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller, Paul Coates/Alec Hardy
Comments: 14
Kudos: 84





	The Last Thing She’d Expected

She had never gone to look for Hardy before work but not in her wildest dreams would she have guessed this was what she’d find...

Completely unsuspecting, Ellie had gone inside (the door had been open after all), but before she could even call out Hardy’s name she’d seen someone standing in the kitchen. Not Hardy. Definitely not Hardy. Someone with blonde hair. Someone who was smaller than Hardy. A man who was wearing a dress shirt and socks but no trousers.

She had a vague idea who it could be. But why would he be here? It didn't make sense.

While she was still wondering about that, he turned around.

There was no doubt now. She had been right.

It was Paul Coates, the vicar of Broadchurch, standing half-naked in Hardy’s kitchen.

He froze and stared at her with wide eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she asked after she had caught herself.

He opened his mouth but then closed it again. He didn't know what to say. His mind was blank.

Ellie shook her head. “Never mind. Is Hardy here?” She could come to her own conclusions about this. There were only so many reasons someone could be in that state of undress in someone else’s kitchen in the morning.

“Uh, no... he- he headed out. Ale- He said he was going to the harbour before work.”

“Okay.” She nodded with a small smile. “Thanks.”

He stood there with a cup in his hand, watching her leave. It took a moment until he shook himself out of this stupor.

Should he have said something? Should he have given some explanation that would have turned this into something it wasn't? But what could that have been? Never mind that, he needed to call Alec. Right now. It wasn’t a long walk to the harbour after all. He quickly grabbed his phone and called Alec, hoping he would pick up.

Surprisingly, he did. And it didn't even take long.

“Hardy.”

“Hi, it’s Paul. Ellie just came here. To your house. She just came in, I didn't hear her. She saw me in your kitchen.” The words came out in a rush.

Alec was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. “What did she want?”

“She was looking for you, she asked if you were here. I told her you went to the harbour.”

“Okay.” He was about to hang up when he heard Paul’s voice from the other end of the line, it sounded so small.

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked. “What? Paul, there’s nothing to apologise for. If anyone should apologise it’s Miller, not you.”

He felt relief flood him. “Okay.” He had almost expected Alec to be a little angry with him. He was a very private person and preferred to keep his personal life to himself. Sometimes he wondered if Ellie knew more than he did. And it made him a little jealous, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“I see Miller, she’s almost here. See you tonight?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Ellie grinned when she saw him. “So Paul Coates half-dressed in your kitchen, hm?”

_ Half-dressed... bloody hell. _ “Shut up, Miller.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I spoke to the man who runs the boat rental. He’ll put together a list of all boats that have been rented out between the 5th and 10th with the names of the people who rented them. He said the most popular ones are the two red ones, relatively small, so most likely not what we’re looking for. But he has a few that could match the description we got. He said he’ll add a page with photos so we can pick out the ones that fit.”

“Good.” She nodded. “So you’re really not going to say anything?”

He shot her an annoyed look. “What’s there to say?”

“Well, you having a one night stand with the local vicar. That's something, isn't it?”

He rolled his eyes. Of course, she wouldn't let it go until she had gotten at least a little out of him. “Wasn't a one-night-stand,” he said quietly. Hurriedly, he added: “And promise me you won't tell anyone about this.”

“What?” She sounded way more delighted than she had any right to be.

“Promise you won't tell anyone,” he said again because he wasn't sure she’d really heard it the first time.

“Yeah, alright, alright.” She nodded and put a hand over her heart. “I promise.”

He pulled a face. “Alright.” He’d have to take her word for it.

“So are you two a regular thing then?”

“Miller!” he said with a warning tone in his voice.

But of course, she ignored him. “Just want to know so I can congratulate you in case you two are together. It’s nice to hear you have a social life. And a love life,” she cheerfully prattled on.

He rolled his eyes but couldn't keep himself from smiling a little. “You’re incorrigible, Miller,” he said, almost fondly.

“That’s still not an answer.”

“I never said you’d get one.” With that, he turned and started walking up to the main street.

She watched him for a moment before jogging to catch up.

“You should apologise, you know?” he said over his shoulder.

“Me? Why?”

“You came into my house, you didn't even knock. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?”

“Well, it's not like you usually have something to hide,” she said a little defensively. It was true, she probably should have knocked... But she wasn't about to back down. “Besides the door was open. How was I supposed to know?”

“It’s a matter of principle, Miller. Next time you drop by unannounced, knock. Or call me.”

“Well, with all due respect,  _ Sir _ , but calling you usually isn't much use, you barely ever pick up.”

He grumbled. That much was true. “Good, old-fashioned knocking will do the trick then.”

“Alright.” She walked alongside him with a slight bounce in her step. “So are you dating him then?”

He groaned and threw his head back. “Miller, leave it!”

“Oh, you know me. You know I don't give up that easily.”

He sighed.

“Besides, you know plenty about my personal life while I barely know any about yours.”

Alec huffed. “That’s not true. You know quite a bit about me. More than anyone else at work. Or in Broadchurch. Well, almost.”

“That’s not really difficult though, is it? At work barely anyone knows anything about you. It’s really not much of a competition.” When he didn't say anything, she added: “It’s still about two minutes to the station.”

He stopped and turned his head to look at her. “Why is this so important to you?”

“We’re friends, aren't we?” She squinted in the sunlight and raised a hand to shield her eyes. “Though you still won't let me call you by your first name.”

He blinked and looked at her. She considered him a friend... Despite... well, despite everything. That was unexpected. He sighed and fought the nervous feeling in his gut. “We’ve been together for nearly half a year now.”

Her eyes widened. “Half a year? Wow!” She grinned at him. “Congratulations!”

He felt a little smile appear on his face. He hadn't thought her being happy for him would mean so much.

“You two should come over for dinner sometime. You know to make it official between the three of us.”

He gave an amused huff. “Alright, I’ll ask him.”

“Great.” She beamed at him.

Still smiling a little, he shook his head and started walking again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving kudos/comments! <3


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